THE DANCE OF THE MASCULINE AND FEMININE

We are going through quite intense periods where both individual and collective unhealthy and unbalanced masculine and feminine energies are reflected in all our lives. In this situation, I would like to shed some light on what masculine and feminine energies are, why they are so important in our lives, and what we can do to balance these energies.

When talking about masculine and feminine, we are not referring to biological traits related to gender or the roles assigned to men and women by society or culture. Masculine and feminine refer to the parts and energies of the soul and essence, the polarities of the singular whole! In existence, everything exists with polarity, both within itself and in relation to the other, and these polarities complement each other both internally and externally. Like lover and beloved, light and dark, seed and earth, lock and key, proton and neutron, Gaia and Uranus. All of existence is the dance of these two and their merging within one another. Normally, feminine energy is more dominant in women and masculine energy is more dominant in men. However, every individual, at varying levels, occasionally exhibits both dominant feminine and masculine traits, and this is quite healthy, necessary, and normal. The problems arise when our unhealthy masculine and unhealthy feminine sides come to the forefront.

Jung mentions that every woman has a masculine part (animus) within and every man has a feminine part (anima). You can think of this like Yin and Yang. Building a healthy anima and animus takes a lot of effort and labor, and when you add to this a distorted masculine and a very wounded feminine (this means masculine women and feminine men), it becomes even more complicated. We have been in a patriarchal structure for a long time, but a patriarchal structure does not mean healthy masculinity. Just as feminism is an unhealthy manifestation of masculine energy and has nothing to do with healthy feminine energy, in a patriarchal structure, we have a suppressed feminine energy and a highly elevated unhealthy masculine structure.

At the end of the article, I will briefly list some of the fundamental qualities and unhealthy manifestations of the masculine and feminine essence within us and in others.

The fundamental issue has several dimensions; one is karma (please think of it as individual karma and collective karma), the other is the parent schemas we inherit from childhood, codes of loyalty to ancestors, ancestral inheritance, and the conflict between conscious and subconscious.

Our unhealthy, unbalanced masculine and feminine energies within ourselves and towards others directly affect our emotional thought patterns, our relationships with partners, children, our environment, ourselves, and the entire universe—both material and spiritual. In such situations, instead of seeing the other as a mirror, messenger, sign, or guide, we tend to view them as the source of the problem, which causes us to miss what we need to focus on and can lead to vicious cycles that cost us dearly. If we suffer from the imbalance of masculine and feminine energies or the underlying dynamics of things we cannot name, we must first work on the fundamental aspects mentioned and gradually integrate them both within ourselves and externally. Yes, this may be a lifelong journey, but without working on these, a healthy psyche, balanced energy and healing, transformation, enlightenment, and a complete life—both materially and spiritually—are not possible.

For a long time, the question of “how can I increase my feminine energy?” has been on the agenda, and there is a need for feminine energy in existence. However, the very pursuit of this question and the energy of doing and achieving already embodies masculine energy. In other words, if you withdraw your masculine energy, your feminine energy will naturally increase and balance. My suggestion for the feminine energy is to accept yourself as you are, rather than starting from a place of perceived deficiency.

You may want to contemplate the fundamental key qualities of the masculine and feminine.

MASCULINE: Positive polarity, active, matter, thought, doing, holding space, giving, emptiness, freedom, existence, order, boundaries, purpose, progress, speed, conquering, surface.

FEMININE: Negative polarity, passive, meaning, intuition, emotions, feelings, being, opening space, receptivity, connection/communication, loyalty, surrender, chaos, meaning, slowing down, creation, depth.

In an unhealthy masculine, the individual suppresses their emotions, cannot let go of control and action, can be aggressive, destructive, prone to inertia, and overly critical. In an unhealthy feminine, the individual may have a need for validation, feel worthless or like a victim, be dependent, insecure, excessively emotional, manipulative, unable to listen, and unable to create or produce, displaying a depressive profile.

There is no need for me to explain how these qualities will be reflected in shadows, subconscious withdrawals, and extremes in those closest to us, as we already experience them in our closest relationships and daily lives. In order to experience and learn what we need to, let go when the time comes, and continually rebirth ourselves, we always need the healthy union of masculine and feminine energies.

Women need to be more together with their healthy feminine energy sources, and men with their healthy masculine sources, to nourish and understand each other. Both need to honor their own masculine and feminine energies, by slightly withdrawing unhealthy masculine and feminine traits, and live through love.

Masculine and feminine are like day and night, the sun and the moon, the sky and the depths of the earth... One is incomplete without the other. I wish that we unite with healthy masculine and feminine sources within ourselves and externally and share them with life in the language of spring.

Ahu BİRLİK